================================================================2. Canadian Seal Hunt Began Monday, 3/23/09SOURCE: 3/23/09, Canada begins seal hunt, under shadow of a banhttp://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-canada-seals24-2009mar24,0,4932581.storySUMMARY: Canada’s annual seal hunt started 3/23/09, under pressure from a
possible European Union ban on imported seal products. The world’s largest
marine mammal hunt was called “inherently inhumane” this month by a European
Parliament committee that endorsed the bill to ban the import of seal
products to the 27-member union. Animal rights groups say the hunt is cruel
and difficult to monitor and ravages the seal population.

================================================================3. Win! Jamaica Says NO To Greyhound RacingSOURCE: 3/19/09, Jamaica Rejects Dog Racing!http://www.grey2kusa.org/eNEWS/G2K-031909Email.htmlSUMMARY:The Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, has written to inform
us that greyhound racing will not be authorized in his country. Thanks to
everyone who sent a letter or email on behalf of the greyhounds! A proposal
to legalize dog racing in South Africa is still under consideration. We’ll
meet with government officials later this month to voice our concerns…

================================================================4. Partial Seal Hunt Ban Is Passed In RussiaSOURCE: 3/18/09, Russia Bans Hunt For Harp Seals Less Than One Year of Agehttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29755181/SUMMARY: Yuriy Trutnev, Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology
announced a complete ban on hunting of all harp seals less than one year of
age in the White Sea. This confirmation comes after an announcement last
month that Russia would ban killing of whitecoat harp seals (unmoulted pups
less than 2 months) and adults in the White Sea — and places Russia far
ahead of Canada in terms of government response to public opinion…

SUMMARY: In 2000 American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
Fund for Animals, Animal Welfare Institute, and former Ringling “barn man”
Tom Rider file a lawsuit against Ringling Bros. Circus (world’s biggest
animal act with over $100 million in revenue annually) under the Endangered
Species Act for its cruelty to Asian elephants.

2/4/09 – 3/18/09, Ringling trial from onset to closing arguments:Plaintiffs argue that bullhooks, chaining elephants up to 20 hours, and
other practices violate Endangered Species Act’s ban on “harming harassing
or wounding” an endangered animal… No immediate ruling is expected from
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who hears the case without a jury.

================================================================6. Obama Bans Downer Cows, Closes LoopholeSOURCE: 3/14/09, Obama bans ‘downer’ cows from food supplyhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29691788/Cheap Meat – Working in a Slaughterhouse: http://tinyurl.com/yul2lwSUMMARY: The Obama administration permanently banned the slaughter of cows
too sick or weak to stand on their own… [Last year’s beef] recall raised
concerns about treatment of cattle…after an investigator for Humane
Society of the U.S. videotaped workers abusing downer cows to force them to
slaughter. Obama’s signature solidifies USDA’s ban and closes a loophole
that left certain downers unprotected. This is an administrative rule, NOT A
LAW. Now, maybe we can get Congress to pass the Downed Animal and Food
Safety Protection Act. The 111th Congressional Session (2009-2010) will
likely reintroduce this longstanding bill to safeguard downed animals.TIME TO TELL THE TRUTH. DOWNLOAD THESE FACT SHEETS:

Photo: National Geographic, Joel SartoreSUMMARY:Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he’d uphold the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service’s decision to remove gray wolves from the federal
endangered list in the Northern Rockies and the western Great Lakes. Wolves
would remain a federally protected species in Wyoming… But management will
be turned over to state agencies in Montana, Idaho and parts of Washington,
Oregon and Utah…Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Salazar said he had concluded that dropping the wolf from the list was
justified by its strong comeback in the two regions, which together have a
population of nearly 5,600 wolves. Sen. Barbara Boxer, the Calif. Democrat
who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, promised to
investigate whether Salazar’s decision is consistent with the Endangered
Species Act… Environmental groups immediately pledged a lawsuit over the
estimated 1,600 wolves in the Northern Rockies…

Idaho and Montana already have plans for public hunts… Idaho Gov. C.L.
Butch Otter repeated his desire to get the first available wolf hunting tag.
“The fish and game population is really counting on a robust population of
trophy animals to maintain that part of our economy,” he said.

SUMMARY: When Bush modified a longstanding Endangered Species Act policy in
December 2008, Kinship Circle supporters flooded Congress and the White
House with comments. Letters asked for reinstatement of the rule that
requires agencies to seek independent review by Fish and Wildlife Service or
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — BEFORE initiating any
project — to determine if their actions might harm vulnerable species.
President Obama restored this rule. Kinship Circle welcomes another reversal
of Bush era anti-animal tactics. Environmentalists and scientists agree that
the Bush change would have hurt threatened species nationwide.

SUMMARY: An offer from the wife of Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens to
establish a sanctuary for 30,000 wild horses is “problematic” and not viable
as proposed, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management said. Nonetheless, the BLM
is willing to continue talks with Madeleine Pickens, Nevada state director
Ron Wenker told the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board.

Pickens last fall proposed establishing 1 million acres, or 1,500 square
miles, as a wild horse sanctuary after BLM said it was considering
euthanasia to stem escalating costs of keeping animals gathered from the
open range in long-term holding facilities. About 33,000 wild horses roam in
10 Western states, about half in Nevada. The horses and burros are managed
by the BLM and protected under a 1971 law enacted by Congress.

Those [who] are too old or considered unadoptable are sent to long-term
holding facilities, where they can live for decades. There are now about as
many animals in long-term care as remain in the wild.

Wenker said there are two problems with Pickens’ offer. One is the $500 per
head, per year — or $15 million annually for 30,000 horses — she was
asking to take the animals off the government’s hands. Pickens told The
Associated Press the stipend would used to finance a nonprofit foundation
that would care for the animals.

The other problem with Pickens’ proposal, Wenker said, is that government
land Pickens has considered for the sanctuary is ineligible because federal
law restricts horses to areas where they existed when the Free Roaming
Horses and Burros Act was enacted… The BLM has said it would not implement
killing healthy wild horses this fiscal year that ends Sept. 30…

================================================================11. Win! University Of Michigan To Use Simulators OnlySOURCE: 2/26/09, Trauma training course will use simulators onlyhttp://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1057SUMMARY:Letters, calls, emails and faxes make an impact. Six weeks after
Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM) alerts us to cruel and
old-fashioned dog labs for University of Michigan’s trauma training courses,
UM publicly announces it will “use only simulated models for the Advanced
Trauma and Life Support courses conducted at the U-M Medical School.”
Nonanimal research tools mean no one suffers. No one dies. Woof! Oink!

================================================================12. Jailed Dogfighter Michael Vick Goes Home In May?SOURCE: 2/26/09, Vick Approved For Home Confinementhttp://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/nflnewsfeed/2009/02/vick-reportedly-approved-for-home-confinement.htmlSUMMARY: Michael Vick has been approved for release to home confinement,
possibly as soon as May 21… The NFL quarterback is serving a 23-month
federal prison sentence in Leavenworth, Kan., for his role in a dogfighting
operation at his home in Virginia. Vick would be on electronic monitoring
and permitted to leave home only for activities approved by his probation
officer. Vick had been scheduled for prison release in July. He remains on
suspension by the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell has to rule on Vick’s
eligibility to play before Vick can resume his NFL career. Vick remains
under contract to the Atlanta Falcons but the team intends to trade him…

================================================================14. Nepal Orders Ban On Export Of Rhesus MonkeysSOURCE: 2/25/09, Nepalese Government Orders End To Export Of Monkeyshttp://www.gatewaytohell.net/news/2009/february/25_02_NP.htmlSUMMARY: W.A.R. (WIN ANIMAL RIGHTS), centcom@war-online.org —Regarding
political situation in Nepal: We’ve concluded that a combination of Nepalese
Parliamentary democracy and the forthcoming Supreme Court action should be
sufficient to ensure monkeys are released and monkey farming is ended in
Nepal. Thanks to your efforts, no monkey has been exported from Nepal…
Thus, we call for an end to direct protests against the Nepalese government
at their embassies and consulates… If there is even the slightest hint
that monkey farming continues, we’ll call for immediate protests…

================================================================15. U.S. House Passes Primate “Pet” BillSOURCE: 2/24/09, House okays Captive Primate Safety Act after chimp attackhttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/02/captive-prima-1.htmlSUMMARY:On 2/23/09, Kinship Circle issued an alert, “Wired To Be Wild”
asking Reps to cosponsor H.R. 80 and Senators to introduce companion
legislation. We also blogged about Travis, the “pet” chimp shot dead on
2/16/09 after attacking his guardian’s friend in Stamford, CT. The U.S.
House of Representative approved the Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R. 80)
with a majority vote of 323-95 (wow)!

LT: Chimps like this little guy are wild animals who naturally mature with
aggressive tendencies. RT: Travis: knifed, beaten, shot and killed after
attacking a visitor at the home where he lived as a “pet.” MyFOX NY

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*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
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[…] Gadling placed an interesting blog post on PART 1: JAN-MAR 2009/KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATESHere’s a brief overviewThere are now about as … many animals in long-term care as remain in the wild. Wenker said there are two problems with Pickens’ offer. […]

Bureau of Land Management on Rampage to Destroy Famous Wild Horse Herd
For Immediate Release August 10, 2009

Cloud and the wild horses of Montana’s PryorMountains are world famous but fame it appears is not going to protect the herd from a drastic government round up planned to begin September 1st in their spectacular wilderness home.

There are currently only 190 wild horses (one year and older) living in the PryorMountains. The BLM plans to remove 70 of them, plus foals. According to the foremost equine geneticist, Dr. Gus Cothran, 150-200 adult horses are needed in the herd to ensure their genetic diversity, which is vital to their long term survival.

These 70 horses would be placed in jeopardy. Any horses over 10 years of age can be bought directly by killer buyers and transported over the Northern border to Canadian slaughterhouses or south into Mexico. Younger horses not adopted would be put into government holding with 33,000 others that the BLM has removed from the wild and has proposed killing because they can no longer afford to feed them.

BLM cites poor range condition as the reason to remove the horses but abundant snow and rain for the past two and a half years has produced wonderful range conditions according to all who have visited Cloud and his herd. The Agency is not listening to anyone. They want this herd gutted. Nearly all the mares returned to the range would be given an experimental two-year infertility drug, PZP-22.

This helicopter round up is just one among many that the BLM is trying to complete, perhaps before the Obama Administration can catch up with what is going on.

The PryorMountain wild horses are descendants of the Lewis and Clark horses who were stolen by the Crow Indians in the early 1800’s. They can be traced further back to the horses brought over with the Spanish Conquistadors in 1500 making them one of the most Spanish of all wild horse herds in North America.